WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 28: I’ll Acquire It
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『Skill Copying』.
A Skill that could replicate other Skills.
Its usefulness was so immense that it was called one of the most overpowered Skills among the Monarchs' Skills.
But people did not know.
That because the original Skill was so useful, it had a derivative Skill that had practically become unnecessary.
That was 『Skill Acquisition』, a Skill that allowed one to acquire a “technique” as a Skill.
To Lee Cheon-gi, it had been little more than a useless burden.
Whether it was a famous master's performance.
A world-renowned actor's acting.
Or a legendary gambler's tricks.
No matter how extraordinary those techniques were, they could not compare to a high-level Player's Skills in this Iron Age.
Rather than acquire such techniques as Skills, it was far more efficient to replicate existing Skills such as 『Instrument Performance』, 『Perfect Acting』, or 『Art of Gambling』.
So after using it a few times, Lee Cheon-gi had judged it useless and left it buried away.
But at this very moment.
Lee Cheon-gi was realizing anew that 『Skill Acquisition』 was anything but useless.
“You thieving bastard! You dare steal my swordsmanship?”
“Calling it theft is a little excessive. I prefer to think that I received your instruction.”
“What instruction, my ass!”
Perhaps he was furious because his swordsmanship had been stolen.
With veins bulging on his forehead, Rimon swung his sword like a madman.
It was a fierce assault that would have sent one or two of Lee Cheon-gi's arms flying in an instant until just moments ago.
But that was only until moments ago.
Clangclangclangclangclang!
He caught the blade aimed at his fingers, twisted his wrist to coil the blades together like snakes, then aimed for Rimon's fingers in return.
Rimon flicked the blade aside, shaking the swords apart, then slashed at Lee Cheon-gi's chest. Lee Cheon-gi spun to evade the slash and thrust forward.
Rimon bent his upper body back to avoid the blade.
As Lee Cheon-gi cut downward at his lower body, Rimon struck the ground with his sword and used the recoil to pull away.
The explanation was long, but the exchange lasted only an instant.
An incredibly fast clash that even Lee Cheon-gi could originally only have barely followed, let alone ordinary high-level Players.
But things were different now.
His speed was not inferior to Rimon's in the slightest!
What made that possible was 『Demon-Slaying Dragon-Killing Sword』, which he had just acquired from Rimon.
“Truly astonishing swordsmanship.”
Lee Cheon-gi was impressed.
He had known Rimon's swordsmanship was remarkable from the moment he saw it counter all his various Skills.
But after acquiring it himself.
He had no choice but to acknowledge his misjudgment.
『Demon-Slaying Dragon-Killing Sword』 was several times more incredible than he had thought.
Its various bonus effects alone proved that.
Of course, it was natural for swordsmanship Skills to come with bonuses.
But the benefits of 『Demon-Slaying Dragon-Killing Sword』 were on another level.
Strength and speed bonuses, Accuracy Correction, major increases to critical-hit chance and every resistance, all that was only the beginning.
There was also additional damage against demonic-attribute targets and dragonkin, a high chance of instant death upon landing a critical hit, danger detection, Skill destruction, and all kinds of special effects.
Even if Lee Cheon-gi combined the bonuses of every swordsmanship Skill he had acquired so far, they would not amount to half of what 『Demon-Slaying Dragon-Killing Sword』 offered.
At this point, comparing them was almost insulting.
It was a gap that made him understand to the bone why a Sword Master was called a Sword Master.
And the true terror of 『Demon-Slaying Dragon-Killing Sword』 did not lie only in its many bonus effects.
“I never imagined swordsmanship alone could make predictions more accurate than precognition.”
The changes in the fingers gripping the sword.
The faint twitch of muscles.
The movement and contraction of pupils.
The placement and angle of a stepping foot.
Like a master Go player who could read the flow of a match through to its endgame from only a few stones on the board.
By observing each of those movements, he predicted his opponent's next action and brought forth his sword.
It was no longer insight, but mastery. Precognition that never missed, a formula for certain victory that cut away every possibility of defeat.
『Demon-Slaying Dragon-Killing Sword』 was swordsmanship that seemed to have compiled that formula.
Lee Cheon-gi understood.
Why Rimon had been called an absolute being.
With this swordsmanship alone, he would have been invincible in an age without Players.
No, with this much skill, he might even have been able to put up a fight against a Monarch.
If his opponent had not been Lee Cheon-gi, that was.
That fact filled Lee Cheon-gi with exhilaration.
“You may take pride in it. Your swordsmanship is worth more than a thousand Skills.”
“Oh? When did I ask you to evaluate my swordsmanship?”
“This is not an evaluation. It is acknowledgment.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
Lee Cheon-gi was certainly one of the strongest people of the current age, but even he was not without limits.
The fact that he could not replicate Unique Skills.
That was the limit of 『Skill Copying』.
And it was Lee Cheon-gi's limit as well.
『Absolute Defense』, 『Deification』, 『Rule of Law』, and the like.
Unique Skills that only one person could wield possessed power that no other Skill could imitate.
He could combine countless Skills to achieve similar results, but reproducing their unique characteristics was impossible.
That was why Lee Cheon-gi was merely one of the ten Monarchs.
He could not become a truly singular absolute being.
Absolute Skills, the power of Monarchs, could overturn thousands of Skills with a single Skill.
But now, things were different.
This can do it.
The effects of 『Demon-Slaying Dragon-Killing Sword』 surpassed most Unique Skills.
No, it would not be an exaggeration to say that it had one foot in the realm of Absolute Skills.
In other words, this made him the first person ever to possess two Absolute Skills.
Even when facing Monarchs against whom he had previously been unable to confidently predict whether he would win or lose, he could now be certain of victory if he drew them into close combat.
And if I obtain the Black Dragon Clan's supreme treasure too...!
His target had only been the Black Dragon Princess.
He had not cared about someone like Rimon.
Yet he had obtained such a treasure from someone he had considered no more than a relic of a bygone age.
Even as unexpected fortune thrilled him, Lee Cheon-gi calmly organized his plans to obtain the Black Dragon Clan's supreme treasure.
Completely ignoring Rimon standing before him.
“...You crazy bastard, are you thinking about something else while fighting me?”
“The result has already been decided.”
“And what result is that?”
“You know. That you can never defeat me now.”
“Say that after you win, you little shit!”
Rimon spat out a savage curse.
As though he did not even realize that his excitement had simplified his sword paths.
Lee Cheon-gi calmly received his sword, which had only grown faster, and thought:
Foolish struggling.
The moment he stole 『Demon-Slaying Dragon-Killing Sword』, Rimon's and his own swordsmanship had become equal.
And unlike Rimon, who was an ordinary person, Lee Cheon-gi had level bonuses as a Player and additional bonuses from many swordsmanship Skills.
If two people used the same technique but had different stats?
The victor was already decided.
That was also why Lee Cheon-gi was deliberately fighting Rimon using swordsmanship alone.
If victory was assured anyway, defeating him with his own swordsmanship would be the greatest respect he could show a Sword Master.
Seventeen exchanges, and it will be over.
Lee Cheon-gi predicted the conclusion of this fierce battle.
Every step, from evading the final attack to driving his sword into Rimon's heart.
Rimon must have anticipated that ending as well.
But it changed nothing.
Just as there was no way to save a king after checkmate had been declared, it was an outcome that had already been decided.
At least, that was what Lee Cheon-gi believed.
Clang!
That was until he reached what should have been the seventeenth and final exchange.
Until he failed to evade Rimon's attack.
...What?
Thanks to Precognitive Foresight, Lee Cheon-gi barely blocked Rimon's attack.
The timing of the attack.
The speed at which the sword was swung.
Even the force behind it.
Not one thing had strayed from his prediction.
And yet, he could not understand why he had failed to evade such an obvious strike.
Still, Lee Cheon-gi did not panic.
Thinking the conclusion had merely been delayed a little, he struck back and predicted the ending once more.
A sword stroke to cut his throat after twenty-one exchanges.
A slash to cut his arm after thirty-four.
A counterattack to pierce his knee after seventy-nine.
Each was an attack that thoroughly calculated Rimon's swordsmanship, one Lee Cheon-gi was certain would become a lethal blow.
Yet the sword stroke that should have landed missed.
Yet the slash aimed at an opening was blocked.
Yet the perfectly executed counterattack was countered.
A strange mismatch where the result differed despite his certainty.
The more they crossed swords, the more the discrepancy grew, and Lee Cheon-gi's expression gradually hardened.
“What are you doing?”
Perhaps sensing Lee Cheon-gi's agitation, Rimon mocked him as he swung his sword.
“You said you stole my swordsmanship. So why are your swings so damn pathetic?”
“What trick did you use?”
“The only one pulling tricks here is you.”
Rimon played dumb.
Seeing that, Lee Cheon-gi became certain instead.
Rimon was the one who had caused his predictions to fail.
From that point on, rather than focus on ending the fight, Lee Cheon-gi concentrated on observing Rimon.
“...I see. So that was it.”
“What the hell do you mean, that was it?”
“Playing ignorant is useless. I have already seen through your trick.”
“What bullshit are you spouting?”
『Observation』, 『High-Speed Thought』, 『Great Detective's Deduction』, 『Polymath』, and more.
After crossing swords for several dozen more exchanges while employing all kinds of Skills, Lee Cheon-gi finally grasped the trick and smiled coldly.
[Unique Skill 『Skill Acquisition』 activates.]
[You acquire 『Demon-Slaying Dragon-Killing Sword Counter』.]
[『Demon-Slaying Dragon-Killing Sword Counter』 is integrated into the similar Skill 『Demon-Slaying Dragon-Killing Sword』. The Skill's effects increase substantially.]
The reason his sword had gone astray at crucial moments.
Having replicated 『Demon-Slaying Dragon-Killing Sword Counter』, Lee Cheon-gi was honestly impressed.
A veteran truly is a veteran.
To think Rimon had created counter-swordsmanship opposed to 『Demon-Slaying Dragon-Killing Sword』 in preparation for the possibility that his swordsmanship would be leaked.
It was the thoroughness expected of a legendary hero who had lived long and experienced every kind of battle.
“The games are over now.”
Lee Cheon-gi had seen through the trick and acquired even the countermeasure that had been Rimon's trump card. He believed Rimon was no longer a match for him without the slightest doubt.
Until he exchanged several dozen more sword strokes.
Until he realized that he still could not gain the upper hand over Rimon and observed his swordsmanship again.
[You acquire 『Demon-Slaying Dragon-Killing Sword Revised』.]
[『Demon-Slaying Dragon-Killing Sword Revised』 is integrated into the similar Skill 『Demon-Slaying Dragon-Killing Sword』. The Skill's effects increase substantially.]
Even then, Lee Cheon-gi only frowned at Rimon's paranoid preparedness.
But he soon learned.
That it was only the beginning.
[You acquire 『New Demon-Slaying Dragon-Killing Sword』.]
[You acquire 『True Demon-Slaying Dragon-Killing Sword』.]
[You acquire 『Demon-Slaying Dragon-Killing Sword Enhanced Edition』.]
[You acquire 『Demon-Slaying Dragon-Killing Sword EX』.]
[They are integrated into the similar Skill 『Demon-Slaying Dragon-Killing Sword』... The Skill's effects increase substantially, increase substantially, increase substanti...]
“...!”
No matter how many times he stole them through 『Skill Acquisition』.
New swordsmanship kept emerging without end: counters to counters, countermeasures that defeated those counters, and countermeasures that defeated those countermeasures.
Lee Cheon-gi could not hide his bewilderment.
This had already gone far beyond paranoia or thoroughness.
[You acquire 『Demon-Slaying Dragon-Killing Sword Version 3.7』...]
[System error, error number xi111a0o
4
4. A bug has occurred: the target has no technique available for acquisition.]
[You acquire 『Demon-Slaying Dragon-Killing Sword Version 3.8』.]
“...This is insane.”
As though he was now too tired to rename each one individually.
A bug message appeared as he frantically used 『Skill Acquisition』 on swordsmanship that changed only by version number.
Seeing it, Lee Cheon-gi cursed.
An action unlike him.
But it could not be helped.
He had finally understood the truth.
Rimon had not prepared countermeasures in advance for every possibility.
“You, are you creating new swordsmanship in real time right now?!”
He was merely inventing new swordsmanship that countered what had been stolen faster than Lee Cheon-gi could acquire it as a Skill.
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